China defended its ally Pakistan on Monday on the issue of terrorism ahead of a key Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. The nation said tackling the threat posed by terrorism is a global responsibility and not just "one country's".
China's Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai, during a press briefing, was asked about Afghanistan blaming Pakistan's intelligence agency for the recent deadly bomb blasts in Kabul. However, the Chinese minister sidestepped the question saying China condemns the recent terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Britain and the Philippines, according to PTI.
"China strongly condemns these violent terrorist incidents and in fact we oppose all forms of terrorism," Li said.
"At present, the international community in terms of opposing terrorism has broad consensus, and all parties emphasise that tackling the threat posed by terrorism is not something that one party or one country alone can successfully do," he added, without mentioning Pakistan.
"The international community should step up cooperation and work together to jointly tackle terrorism and China stands willing to work together with other parties, bilaterally and multilaterally to step up cooperation and take all necessary measures to jointly protect respective countries and regional security and development," the minister said.
The Chinese minister's remarks came days ahead of the SCO summit. The summitt is mulling a treaty on terrorism. India and Pakistan will attend the summit this week at Astana as new members of the organisation.
PM Modi is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the meeting. Modi could also meet the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the Summit.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation comprises of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The SCO acts as a China-dominated security group with special focus on Central Asia.
